The 4th Sons de la Mediterrània is open for applications

The 14th Fira Mediterrània of Manresa, the Centre Artesà Tradicionàrius in Gràcia and the publishing house Enderrock Group is opening the third Sons de la Mediterrània Demo Competition for submissions, addressed to groups or soloists that perform folk music or music with Mediterranean roots, either in Catalan or instrumental music. Priority will be given to submissions that contribute to the revival of musicians performing music with Mediterranean roots, especially emerging artists. Last year, with a significant improvement in the method for publicising the call for submissions, the number off competing bands increased from 20 to 54.

Participating groups or soloists must present a minimum of four pieces, either originals or covers by registering at the website www.concurssons.cat. This allows the call for submissions to surpass traditional routes for looking for demos and connect to the worlds of tools 2.0. The MySpace or YouTube pages for each group will be a sufficient channel for entering the competition. Participants must also include the names of all group members, a short history of the group, the lyrics of the songs presented, contact email and telephone number, a recent photo and the name of the piece’s author. Groups or soloists that already have a record label contract cannot enter the competition.

The call for submissions closes on 31 May 2011. Four groups will be selected out of all the submissions received, which will move into the finalist round.

The Finals at the 14th Fira Mediterrània of Manresa

The jury will bring together a select group of music professionals and specialists in the city of Manresa, where the finalist round will be held, coinciding with the thirteenth edition of the Fira Mediterrània. It is part of the platform of artistic festivals in which the map of performance markets is structured that are established by the Ministry of Culture and Media, in parallel with other festivals such as the Fira de Teatre al Carre de Tàrrega and the Mercat de Música Viva de Vic. The jury will be made up of staff members from the magazine Sons de la Mediterrània, the Centre Artesà Tradicionàrius de Gràcia, the Fira Mediterrània of Manresa, the Llotja de Música Urbana de Vila-real (Valencia).

The groups participating in the finalist round will appear for the first time in the Fira’s professional catalogue, programme and website. The final decision will be announced at the Fira’s closing ceremony.

The prize

The winning group will receive a 3000-euro advertising campaign from the magazine Sons de la Mediterrània and the radio station iCat FM, the recording of an album and record company contract, promotion in the magazine Sons de la Mediterrània and a tour in 2011 with five shows that will include the Tradicionàrius Festival, the 14th Fira Mediterrània of Manresa, the Circuit Folk, the 31st Festival Internacional de Música Popular i Tradicional (FIMPT) of Vilanova i la Geltrú and the Vela de l’acordió at Festcat / Escola de la Festa de Llívia. The shows performed by the prize winners will be paid a minimum promotional fee, depending on the number of members in the group, which will include travel expenses and the backline.

Groups may submit their proposals by sending them to the email sons@enderrock.cat or by signing up on the website www.concurssons.cat.